The Reception History Of The Chinese Translation Of Samyutta Nikaya

There are 57 large and single versions of Sa(?)yuktagama in Chinese translation,which lasted for nearly a thousand years from the later Han Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty.There are three stages in the Chinese translation of this classic group:(1)the translation of single version in Han,Wei and Jin Dynasties;(2)the translation of large version in northern and Southern Dynasties;(3)the retranslation of single version in Tang and Song Dynasties.From the perspective of classic interpretation,Chinese Buddhism does not only attach importance to Mahayana classics,but also supports and constructs the classic system of Chinese Buddhism with the structure of simultaneous interpretation and coexistence of Mahayana and Hinayana classics.In the Six Dynasties and Sui and Tang Dynasties,the main trend of the development of the doctrines was to attach importance to the Mahayana classics and despise the Hinayana classics.It was believed that the Agama sutra was the earliest and shallowest statement of Buddha.However,stripping off the derogatory evaluation,we find that in fact,in the mainland,all schools have recognized Agama is the most basic classic identity,but this understanding is covered by the light of medieval Buddhist thought debate,and has not been fully demonstrated.Although it was interpreted as a Hinayana classic and could not enter the top ideological world of Chinese Buddhism,the Sa(?)yuktagama plays an indispensable role in the general knowledge world of Chinese Buddhism.In the integration of knowledge and culture of Chinese Buddhism and Chinese society from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the Hinayana Buddhist classics represented by the Sa(?)yuktagama have not been eliminated,but have always been the stable source of Chinese Buddhist knowledge system.It is the background of Chinese Buddhist knowledge world and an indispensable part of the jigsaw puzzle of Buddhist knowledge.Since modern times,under the influence of European and Japanese academic circles,Chinese scholars such as Liang Qi-chao,Lv Cheng,Nie Ou-geng and Shi Yin-shun have begun to sort out and study Sa(?)yuktagama,which has gradually reversed the traditional understanding of Chinese people on Sa(?)yuktagama and promoted the new emphasis on it.Since modern times,the discovery of Sa(?)yuktagama has directly affected the rise of Buddhist thoughts and promoted the exchange of Buddhism between the north and the south.It should be said that the acceptance of Hinayana classics in China,has had and will continue to have an impact and contribution on the formation of a pluralistic and integrated pattern of Chinese Buddhism,in which Mahayana and Hinayana are developed simultaneously,manifestism and Esoterism are emphasized equally,and theory and practice are in parallel.